Empirical Finance LLC Purchases 82 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,240 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at $72,901,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,959,000 after buying an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $105,345,000 after buying an additional 289,876 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,317,000 after acquiring an additional 205,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 81.2% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,125,000 after acquiring an additional 204,832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $166.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $163.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.59%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 41.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 35.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.13.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.